Telephone jack plug



April 23, 1968 J, GAINES ET AL 3,380,015

TELEPHONE JACK PLUG Filed Oct. 10, 1966 f/vvslvrazs. Jbcz Ll. @fl/NES Lmvas K. BOURA/ENNE WM g zz -n United States Patent 3,380,015 TELEPHONE JACK PLUG Jack H. Gaines, Seal Beach, and Francis K. Bourhenne,

Lawndale, Calif., assiguors to Sierra Electric Corporation, Gardena, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Oct. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 585,510 .10 Claims. (Cl. 339-107) The general objectives of this invention are directed to improvements in telephone jack plugs of the type having four prong terminals arranged in differentially or asymmetrically spaced pairs and receivable within a jack receptacle through correspondingly arranged openings therein.

The invention deals primarily with the accommodation in the plug body of the four lead wires entering the body within a single insulated multiple conductor at the inside of a non-conductive body insert which carries the prong terminals.

One object of the invention is to provide an insert configuration for curved guidance of the wire terminals for connection with the prongs, about an apertured center of the insert through which the latter is secured to the body. Also contemplated in conjunction with such wire guidance is a shaping of the insert for indexing projection within a conductor-passing opening in the side of the body, in a manner to clamp the conductor within the opening.

A further object of the invention is to provide for clamped retention of the Wire terminals in their curved approaches to the prong connection-s. This object is accomplished by providing the inside of the plug body end with a boss which receives the body-insert fastener in a manner such that tightening of the fastener clamps a preferably irregularized face of the boss against the wire terminals.

All the features and objects of the invention will be understood from the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment shown by the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the plug in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is an exploded illustration in perspective of the P P s;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken centrally through the plug;

FIG. 4 is a cross section on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlargement of interengaging portions of one of the insulated wire loop terminals and the retaining boss.

The illustrated plug structure comprises a hollow knob cap section generally indicated at 10, an insert section 11 receivable within section as particularly illustrated in FIG. 3, and a fastener in the form of screw 12 which releasably interconnects the sections in clamped retention of the looped terminals of four insulated Wires contained in the insulated multiple conductor 13. Both sections 10 and 11 are, molded of suitable non-conductive plastic material.

The cap section 10 shown to be essentially square in cross section, having a closed outer face 14 and being cavitated at 15 to receive the essentially square insert 11 so that in the assembled condition of the plug the insert face 16 may be substantially flush with or slightly inset from the inner end face 17 of the cap depending upon the degree of wire terminal compression.

Molded integrally with the closed end 14 of the cap is a circular boss 18 having a central threaded bore 19 to receive the screw 12. The boss 18 presents a circular inside bearing face 20 which preferably is irregularized to present serrated projections 21 for clamped retention of the insulated wire terminals as will appear.

The insert 11 mounts conductive prong terminals 22 symmetrically arranged about the center opening 23 in differentially spaced pairs in standard keeping with telephone circuitry. As shown in FIG. 5 each of the prongs 22 is shown to have an intermediate flange 24 embedded in face 16 of the insert, and beyond the flange a tubular shank 25 into which is threaded a binding screw 26 which anchors one of the bared wire terminals 27 to the flared mouth of the shank. The insert enters a counter-recess at 28 in the mouth wall of the cap at the outside of shoulder 29 which limits entry of the insert into the cap.

In reference to FIG. 4, the multiple conductor 13 is shown to contain four insulated wire leads 30, the terminal insulated extent of the multiple conductor being looped at 31 about a central hollow circular boss 32 molded integrally with the insert, the boss having axial bore 33 extending through the insert to counterbore 34 which receives and shoulders the head 12a of screw 12. The conductor loop 31 is guided and confined in its condition and position of FIG. 4. About the boss 32 are circularly spaced projections 36 molded integrally with the insert and having suificient extent inwardly of the cap to assure retention of the loop 31 in clamped condition. The insulated terminal portions of the lead wires 30 extending out of the insulation loop 31 go respectively to the four binding screws 26 for retention of the bared wire terminals 26 as previously described with reference to FIG. 5. The multiple conductor 13 is brought into the cap through a side opening 37 purposely positioned within the bottom center of the cap in its plugged-in position within a receptacle (not shown), so that the conductor may be located least conspicuously in straight down hang from the plug. The bottom side edge of the insert 12 has a projection 38 which enters the slotted cap opening 37 to index and key the cap and insert in the described relation and also to bear against the conductor 13 for its more or less tightly clamped retention.

After assemblage of the insert with its wire terminal connections made as described in reference to FIG. 4, the insert assembly is put into the cap with conductor 13 in the opening 37, and upon inserting and tightening the screw 12 the multiple conductor insulation loop 31 is pressed against the serrated face 20 of the cap boss 18 so that the loop becomes tightly clamped between the insert and cap and the loop is held by the serration penetration of the loop insulation, as shown in FIG. 6, against withdrawal or any consequential disturbance of the loop in its clamped condition.

We claim:

1. A telephone jack plug comprising a nonconductive hollow knob cap having an outer closed end and an inner open end, a non-conductive insert received within said open end of the cap, two pairs of differentially spaced contact prongs carried within and projecting outwardly from said insert, means at the inside of said insert for connecting respectively to said prongs the bared terminals of each of four insulated wires extending from an insulated conductor led into the cap through an opening in a side thereof, means for confining looped terminal ends of the insulated wires to the inside area of said insert between said connecting means and a central opening in the insert, retaining means carried by the inside of the closed end of the cap and engageable against said looped terminal ends, and means interconnecting the cap and insert through said insert opening.

2. A plug according to claim 1, in which the insert includes a projection received within said cap side opening to confine the conductor therein.

3. A plug according to claim 1, in which said confining means comprises radially spaced inner and outer guide means projecting from the inside of the insert about said opening therein.

4. A plug according to claim 3, in which said inner guide means is a tubular boss about said opening and the outer guide means comprises circularly spaced projections.

5. A plug according to claim 4, in which said insert has an edge projection received within said cap side opening and side guide means are arranged to direct the conductor outwardly substantially in alignment with said edge projection.

6. A plug according to claim 1, in which said retaining means comprises a boss projecting integrally from the inside of the closed end of the cap and containing an opening which receives said fastening means.

7. A plug according to claim 6, in which the inside face of said boss has serrations about the last mentioned opening.

8. A plug according to claim 4, in which said retaining means comprises a boss projecting integrally from the inside of the closed end of the cap and containing an opening which receives said fastener means.

9. A plug according to claim 8, in which said plug and insert are square in cross section and the outer face of the insert is substantially flush with the open end of the cap.

10. A plug according to claim 9, in which the insert has an edge projection received within said side opening in the cap, said fastener being a screw which in tightened condition presses said boss and edge projection against said looped terminals and conductor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,014,934 1/1912 Baker 339269 X 1,751,842 3/1930 Propp 339l75 X 2,437,635 3/1948 Arentz 339196 X 2,475,243 7/1949 Irr-gang 339196 X 3,031,637 4/1962 Descarries 339196 X 3,335,395 8/1967 Smith 339- 107 FOREIGN PATENTS 549,865 8/1956 Belgium. 611,554 7/1926 France.

8,548 1904 Great Britain. 82,905 12/1953 Norway. 170,982 4/ 1960 Sweden. 314,458 7/ 1956 Switzerland.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TELEPHONE JACK PLUG COMPRISING A NONCONDUCTIVE HOLLOW KNOB CAP HAVING AN OUTER CLOSED END AND AN INNER OPEN END, A NON-CONDUCTIVE INSERT RECEIVED WITHIN SAID OPEN END OF THE CAP, TWO PAIRS OF DIFFERENTIALLY SPACED CONTACT PRONGS CARRIED WITHIN AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID INSERT, MEANS AT THE INSIDE OF SAID INSERT FOR CONNECTING RESPECTIVELY TO SAID PRONGS THE BARED TERMINALS OF EACH OF FOUR INSULATED WIRES EXTENDING FROM AN INSULATED CONDUCTOR LED INTO THE CAP THROUGH AN OPENING IN A SIDE THEREOF, MEANS FOR CONFINING LOOPED TERMINAL ENDS OF THE INSULATED WIRES TO THE INSIDE AREA OF SAID INSERT BETWEEN SAID CONNECTING MEANS AND A CENTRAL OPENING IN THE INSERT, RETAINING MEANS CARRIED BY THE INSIDE OF THE CLOSED END OF THE CAP AND ENGAGEABLE AGAINST SAID LOOPED TERMINAL ENDS, AND MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE CAP AND INSERT THROUGH SAID INSERT OPENING. 